On Saturday the 14th of May this year Norfolk Canoes held their first ever East Anglia Demo Day. The event was organised in association with the 16th Norwich Sea Scouts as a fund raising event. Late last year the Sea Scouts lost all of their kayaks in a fire and all money raised was to go to replacing their fleet. For just £3 anyone could come along and get on the water in as many of the boats as they like as many times as they liked.
We had high hopes on both attendance and the weather, with hot and cold food and drinks laid on to satisfy the droves of eager paddlers we looked forward to welcoming! The forecast running up to the day looked ominous but we were delighted to see blue skies and no clouds come the morning. How long would this last we wondered?
We set out our small flotilla of canoes, kayaks and inflatables ready for inspection. The manufacturers who kindly came along to the day were set up and ready. Now all we needed were some eager folk wanting to get afloat.
10.00 am came and people started to arrive. Some came to browse but most came to get in a boat or two. Soon the small stretch of river became a busy waterway and barring the occasional minor collision, someone getting stuck in the reeds and the rare capsize our safety instructors came quickly to the rescue of, the day passed with many smiles and a great deal of enjoyment. Of course the brief hail storm and light shower now and again made everyone take cover for a bit, but otherwise the day was a great success.
In all over 100 people took to the water, we raised a healthy amount of money for the Scouts and hopefully introduced many people to the wonderful world of paddlesports.
Roll on the next East Anglia Demo Day…watch this space!